Kobe can't deliver

I've been doing a lot Kobe "hatin" recently. I've been "hatin" on his play and shot selection. In normal situations if Kobe shot as bad as he did in game 3 last night against Oklahoma, you would chalk that up to a bad night and coming back strong. However, this has been the same story for a while. I've been harping on Kobe's shooting. Its not even fun to watch him shoot this bad. Artest shot better in the game, but still not  nearly well enough. The unfortunate thing is that the Lakers had this game. They could have been up 3-0. Yes, I give much credit to the Thunder. They played great at the end. Durant was a beast. Artest did well limiting his scoring early and making his shots tough. However, Durant rebounded amazingly and picked it up at the end. Durant is definitely making a name for himself for those who don't know him yet. The main thing to any victory is that you pulled it out. That is what the Thunder did. Kobe wasn't dependable in the 4th quarter and just shot terrible. He couldn't give the lift to his team that they needed. It seemed everyone else's play picked up except Kobe.

Kobe at a young age is already an old veteran. This is his 14th year in the league. That is pretty crazy. He is starting to break down similarly to other guys who came in around the same time as he did. A lot of them haven't even made it this far. Kobe is a great player, but he will always be compared to himself at his peak. At his peak he was the best in the NBA. Currently, Lebron has that title easily. Kobe's injury filled season has not even allowed it to be a debate of who the best is right now.

Last night Kenny Smith was talking that in a few years that Kevin Durant would be the best player in the NBA. I don't know about that quite yet. However, as Kobe goes toward the end of his career, I think Lebron and Kevin Durant will be fighting for who the best is. Lebron is currently on top.